Pulitzer Center

Stephanie Hanes, for the Pulitzer Center
Gorongosa, Mozambique

This is a really important – and difficult – question. But I think it's an essential one to ask, and I hope you guys take some time thinking about it and maybe even debating it in class. I know my friends and colleagues do a lot of that here.

I'll post my thoughts on this, but I also asked Vasco, at Gorongosa, what he thought about this. Click to see his answer...

From Vasco:

Stephanie Hanes, for the Pulitzer Center
Gorongosa, Mozambique

What is the most vital issue that needs help in restoring the park? (ie land mines, animals, plant life)

The biggest gap in the park's ecosystem is large mammals. They were all poached out during and after the war. So restoring those animals is going to be huge.

Stephanie Hanes, for the Pulitzer Center
Gorongosa, Mozambique

Hi all - here's another one of your questions, and my attempt at a response... (hopefully not too long winded!)

What are the security concerns presently in Mozambique, and what measures have been taken to promote a safer environment, specifically around the park?

Jolo rises steeply out of the island-dotted Sulu Sea. Thick clouds hover above jagged volcanic peaks on this green and brown patch of tropical forest. Could there be smoke mixed in there too? A little fear mixed with anticipation is playing a few tricks on my mind. I'm on a Weesam-owned fastcraft ship approaching the city, wondering if it is being shelled or not.

Water flowing off the mountain creates the park's unique wetland system – the environment that allowed such huge herds of animals. But deforestation is threatening the mountain and its water supply – and the future of the park itself.

There's something to be said for being at the right place at the right time. And I'm glad the cosmos came together for my first photographs of the US military. Though it wasn't the most exciting shoot in the world, a C-17 originating in Fort McChord, Washington landed to drop off supplies 30 minutes after my plane arrived in Zamboanga. About 500 US soldiers, many of them Special Forces stationed in Japan or Hawaii, are rotating out of their 6-mont stint in the southern Philippines.

A grizzly photo on the front page of today's Philippine Daily Inquirer's made me gulp and think about where I'm heading tomorrow. It was a 1-megapixel image spread over 7 columns of the seven, headless bodies found in Jolo. They actually weren't found. The Abu Sayyaf apparently took the time to deliver the heads to an Army camp in the town of Parang. Maj.

Stephanie Hanes, for the Pulitzer Center
South Africa

Ok, you guys really have some great questions. I know I've only answered two so far... but it's getting late here in South Africa and I've got to pack for the U.S.! More info soon...
Stephanie

Stephanie Hanes, for the Pulitzer Center
Gorongosa, Mozambique

What changes have you noticed since the start for the project until the present time?

Well, I didn't see the park at the very beginning of the project. But I can talk about some of the differences between April/May last year and when Steve and I were up there a couple of weeks ago.

Stephanie Hanes, for the Pulitzer Center
Gorongosa, Mozambique

Hi all. Thanks for your great questions.
I'm going to try to write back one at time, and will post as I go…

Ethiopia's Foreign Ministry has released a statement telling the western press that it needs to be more objective and balanced. Unfortunately, this is fairly typical stuff.

These photographs were taken by Ryan Anson on a previous trip to Mindanao, prior to his Pulitzer Center reporting project in 2007.